Hawaii Air National Guard Tankers Deploy to Support Operation Inherent Resolve

Hawaii Air National Guard Tankers Deploy to Support Operation Inherent Resolve

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii- More than 50 members of the Hawaii

Air National Guard (HIANG), based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPH-H)

have deployed to Southwest Asia to join the 18-Nation air Coalition in the

fight against Daesh.

Three KC-135 Stratotankers belonging to the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron, along with flight

and maintenance crews and other support personnel, left JB PH-H this weekend for Al Udeid

Air Base in Qatar.

The HIANG Airmen will be deployed for four months as part of an Air

Expeditionary Force rotation. The unit has deployed to the U.S. Central Command (US CENTCOM) Area of Responsibility numerous times. The most recent deployment is similar to a rotation during the summer and fall of 2014.

Aerial refueling makes it possible to extend the range and persistence of Coalition air operations in Iraq and Syria, enabling U.S. and other Coalition aircraft to maintain a 24/7 presence over areas Daesh operates in, holding targets they value at risk.

According to US CENTCOM, in areas where the Coalition is operating and supporting indigenous ground forces in Iraq and Syria, Daesh is operationally on the defensive. Unlike a year ago when Daesh had relative freedom of movement through much of Syria and Northern Iraq, today Daesh is struggling to hold the territory they have. Daesh has lost about 40% of the populated territory it once controlled in Iraq. In Syria, indigenous ground forces have expelled Daesh from the

majority of the northern border, which accounts for roughly 17,000 square

kilometers. Daesh has been forced to reposition forces, reconfigure units,

change tactics and reorganize in order to maintain combat power and retain

territory. At the same time, the pressure from Coalition-backed ground

operations is causing Daesh to rely on harassing attacks, small/limited

offensive attacks, and terrorist tactics (such as employing large numbers of

IEDs).

All of the HIANG Airmen who deployed are part of the 154th Wing, the largest

Air National Guard wing in the nation. The Hawaii Air National Guard is

comprised of nearly 2,500 Airmen whose federal mission is to be trained and